'supporting each other through really tough times'

fuddle

He's got 5 days I think kidcat. It's calendar days too and not working days I think.

Possession it's a good idea but just too late. The thought of trying to do a personal statement professionally in the next few hours, I just wouldn't do myself justice. Apparently it's not the en of the world if its late. I have until 30th June officially. I just would have had a better chance before today. What can I expect, I only made my mind up yesterday. That's why it's SIDS law.

It's heart breaking earring how so many women who have stayed at home to bring up children will struggle to get a pension. I had no idea

kidcat

Rosie where did you buy it from? I would not be messing with changing bulbs etc on a brand new item, I would be sending it back for a replacement.

Fuddle - my DD took 3 months doing her personal statement and that included my doing loads on it and a college tutor taking ages on it too, its definitely not something to rush.

Possession- I would suggest that you and the other mum/s go into school together and talk to the staff, schools rarely exclude any more - there are fines for it, so any that exclude are usually doing it as a way to build a case for additional funding/help for the child. Permanent exclusion is also exceptionally difficult and it will take more than a few kids complaining for a school to be willing to go down that route. So if they are talking of excluding him temporarily it may be a good thing for the child in that he will get much needed support, and if they are talking permanent they will have a huge dossier on him already of which this will only be a very minor part.

One of my kids schools have been unable to even give a temp exclusion to a child who has physically attacked 15 of his classmates repeatedly over three months. He is verbally abusive to all staff and children and uses language that would make a sailor blush all the time.
He has also attacked five staff members on a number of occassions - yet they cannot exclude him at all. There have been a serious number of children/parents who have made formal complaints and they are still miles off exclusion.

Can you re-assure your son that they wont be getting him into trouble, they will be getting him help?

Fuddle - The whole pension thing is terrible, if the changes had been brought in with a time lapse it would have helped, I am of an age that if my boys no longer require care I can easily get enough years on top of my credits already. But for women who are in their fifties and who may have never worked, having stayed home and looked after their family (maybe caring for grandchildren now) they have no hope at all.

The question then arises of what these women are supposed to do when they reach retirement and have no pension at all, they will be entirely reliant upon their husband and if he dies they will have nothing at all.

I was thinking of all the friends of my mum who are now looking after grandchildren to allow their children to work - maybe we should be allowing the credits that arise with CB to be transferred, after all a fulltime working mother will be paying her contribution instead.

GreyQueen

Fuddle, my Mum left school at 15 and into work the same week, worked until 7 months gone with me, was a SAHM for the next 9 years, then back into the workforce when I was 9 and Bro was 7. She always paid full stamp, retired at 60 years plus a few months and ended up with an amount of state pension which was only slightly more than she'd've got as a married woman who'd never worked outside the home. :mad:

Pretty sick-making, huh? Dad retired on the day of his 65th birthday, figured 50 years in the workforce was enough. They scrimped to pay the mortgage off early, paid into company pension and had extra savings, live and continue to live very modestly and should be OK.

I got an invitation from the Revenue in the late eighties to top up my Nat Insurance contributions for the student years. It was a few 100s but it left me with £10 as my sole wealth in the world. It was a hard call to make, but I ws glad I took the opportunity. I also topped up another missing year when offered a chance and now have a complete record bar one year which had gone past the point where they'd allow me to top up.

I had several years out of the workforce due to severe (read - nearly died) health probs but was on a benefit which came with Nat Ins credits. Pay a big chunk every month into the local govt scheme (you have to opt out of the state second pension to be in this) but due to pro-rata-ing on my p/t work won't see a lot at the end of it.

Now back in the workforce and intending to stay there, retirement age currently 66. Have had the goalposts moved on me twice already, from 60 to 65 and now to 66. Fully-expect them to be moved again and can easily see the situation where there isn't a state retirement age; you work until you're signed off as permanantly unfit and then you get your pittance.

My great-grandad died aged 67 because he was still working. He was a very very fit man at that age and would have probably lived another 15-20 years if he hadn't been killed in a workplace accident.

The reason he was still working? Because great-nanna didn't get a pension, having been a full-time Mum to a brood of 11, which counted for squat, and they couldn't subsist on his pension alone.

Life is truly going backwards for a lot of us, isn't it?!

Own_My_Own

Who is eligible for National Insurance credits?
There are different circumstances in which you may be able to get credits. These are:

when you are unemployed, or unable to work because you are ill, and claiming certain benefits

If you were aged 16 to 18 before 6 April 2010, you were usually credited automatically with National Insurance credits. No new awards will be made from 6 April 2010.

if you are on an approved training course
when you are doing jury service

if you are getting Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Additional Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Sick Pay, Maternity Allowance or Working Tax Credit

if you have been wrongly put in prison

if you are a man approaching age 65 (however, from 6 April 2010 these credits are being phased out in line with the increase in women's State Pension age)

if you are caring for a child or for someone who is sick or disabled

if you are aged 16 or over and provided care for a child under 12, that you are related to and you lived in the UK for the period(s) of care

if your spouse or civil partner is a member of Her Majesty's forces and you are accompanying them on an assignment outside the UK

Copied from HM Revenue & Customs.

HTH OMO xx

Possession

Kidcat I have to confess I don't understand about schools being 'unable' to temporarily exclude, but anyway this is what I was told would happen by the Head if he hit DS again. (Whether it will or not, who knows!). I am 100% certain there is a huge file on him already, he has had huge issues since reception and is under a child psychologist.

kidcat

In that case possession this is the final straw that school are playing in order to either prove he needs to be moved to a more suitable environment or to get him extra help. DS8 was excluded in sept for half a day - this built up enough of a case that they received additional funding for a TA for a few hours.

Byatt

Pooky, no he's not deaf, he can hear the rattle of the dreamies packet from upstairs anyway!

kidcat

Byatt wrote: »

Pooky, no he's not deaf, he can hear the rattle of the dreamies packet from upstairs anyway!

Well of course he can, all cats can hear dreamies!! DD18 shook the packet over her balcony during the summer, I swear we had thirty cats around within minutes!!

elizabunny

Just to drop a lighter note into our many worries, which are no doubt the reason for my several culinary disasters over the past few days (burnt HM soup yesterday:o) Today after rushing off to make the HM Haslet and a HM Lasagne -I managed to eject a piece of toast into a washing up bowl full of water, snap the plastic bits off my sieve so it now won't sit on the bowl and drop....yes another slice of bread into the same washing-up bowl full of water:eek::rotfl:
However, on a more serious note, our vet bill was just over £230 and £100 of that will not be covered by the doggie insurance. Her poor ear is so sore and she needed antibiotics and eardrops amongst other things. We have had dogs all our married life, but I am now forced to seriously consider whether we will be able to have another when this dear soul passes on:( If I cannot afford to insure one and now I am not sure that we will be able to, I won't have one. I know we could put away a little each week, but our current dog has had thousands of pounds worth of treatment (poor thing -long story -won't bore) and we definately wouldn't be able to pay this in the future. We are currently paying £62.50p per month for insurance and although the insurance company have been fabulous, the premiums are becoming just so expensive.

We also have a house bunny which is insured, but again, if I can't afford to insure in the future, I won't have one because again the vet bills for poorly bunnies are just so expensive.

I have just re read a couple of my posts and feel that they come across as 'all about ME' and that wasn't what I intended at all:o. In general I am quite an upbeat person, but I just wanted to express the fear that so many of us must be feeling over the future for all our varied reasons.

On another high note, I have today managed to get around the house and go outside to shop properly, with little pain, for the first time in weeks :j So this must mean I'm mending. Getting out of bed is still a problem in the morning and I don't sleep well, because I wake up everytime I turn over or DH moves, but this is definately a step in the right direction:D.

kidcat

eliza - your posts have not been all about you, they have informed us that there is something terrible happening. I have always ignored pensions and things as "it wont happen to me" - well obviously it will but it was something to consider tomorrow. Yet it really does need thinking about now, as for some women they may actually have to start making voluntary contributions at a young age to be prepared.
Without people flagging this up to everyone where would we be?

I agree over pet insurance, we cant insure the cats, too old when we could afford it, the dog is insured as he is huge and so valuable, but he was young when we got him and we have just kept it up.
We are now eligible for PDSA care at the moment and for that I am grateful but like you there will be no more pets unless we can insure them

DS14 is desperate for a new cat, as his sensory calm down etc, and if we get his DLA sorted I will probably get one but his DLA will have to fund both food etc and insurance.